Doctor Who Afterdeath 11
by Loquatorious
Summary: A what-if story where the Eleventh Doctor escapes his regeneration on Trenzalore and goes on to be the Doctor in Series 8. Starts from Time of the Doctor. Spoilers for series 7 and inevitably Series 8. Whouffle.
1. Chapter I

Doctor Who

Afterdeath

 **AN: As an avid Doctor Who fan I've often wondered what would happen in a certain episode if it was a different doctor (for example, what would the 10th Doctor do in 'Death to the Daleks'?) So I've decided to create this Fanfiction concept for a Doctor to continue for an extra season or however long you want: Afterdeath. The rules are simple. In order for the story to be an story, the story must:**

 **• Follow the stories of the following episodes (eg, 9th Doctor's Afterdeath must follow the stories in New Who Series 2)**

 **• Be written so the Doctor is in character, otherwise there's no point. However you can have a character arc that makes sense in context of the story.**

 **• Differ in some way in how the doctor handles the situation but he must do it whilst in character, because each Doctor is not the same (eg, 1st and 2nd Doctors are very different and would handle each episode differently)**

 **• Present a valid reason for the Doctor not regenerating**

 **A lot of rules, I know, but I just wanted to set some guidelines for anyone who would like to attempt this kind of story for their own Doctor. So have fun with my concept, but for all those fans of the 11th Doctor, here is his Afterdeath!**

"No, no, no!" Clara cried, fighting to keep her tears from falling. This wasn't the time for tears. She had to be strong for him. The Doctor had just saved the world, possibly the universe, and now he was leaving her just when she was starting to figure him out. Clara didn't know what it was; perhaps it was a crush, perhaps it was friendship, perhaps even love but whatever it was, she didn't want to see him go. Not him, not her boyfriend, not now...

Her Doctor held out a reassuring hand for Clara as she reached out her to touch it. She could barely reach from her spot in the TARDIS. She was frozen in grief as she watched his face start to glow a fiery orange and heat up. His tired face harboured a sad smile as he held off the inevitable for as long as possible. He had no idea who he would turn into, the males of Gallifrey didn't have that much control in their regeneration. He had been dreading this regeneration for a while. He knew it would happen eventually though, but this time he had so much to lose. Clara, his Clara, was begging him to stay, but there was nothing he could do. This was it, the day the Doctor did the impossible and regenerated a thirteenth time.

But was it worth it? Maybe not, the Doctor thought as he looked into Clara's eyes. Could he honestly risk leaving Clara with a complete stranger. Even if he was the Doctor, his entire personality would change, he would be a new man and yet the same. But Clara needed him, this Doctor, this face. Now more than ever, and that broke his heart. He had to watch and wait as precious seconds slipped by and his fate edged closer, like watching out of the window as the train pulled away. Last time he did this it was painful, he had no one there to seem him off, and now he did but that didn't make it any less tragic. He always thought when his last body had described regeneration as dying, it was a vanity problem, but now he understood completely. He wasn't mourning himself, he was yearning for everyone else, everyone he had lost, everyone he cared and loved for. Just someone...

His fingers tingled with regeneration energy as he felt the change start to happen, like an unstoppable wave or the call of sleep after a very, very busy evening. All he needed to do was slip away...however his thoughts were interrupted when he felt Clara's hand slip into his and tighten as if anchoring him to this body. And then he heard it. The beg that made him certain he had to remain. The sole reason he decided to hang on. Clara's sobbing.

"P-Please don't change..."

He looked at her angelic face to see tears streaming down. He saw her plea in her watery eyes. And he realised what he had to do, he had to make her better, to save a life and soul from slipping away, to help her, to be a Doctor!

"No," the Doctor grimaced as he held on as much as possible, "Not this time. I promise." Those last words were addressed to Clara and himself. He hurt too many by changing. It would seem so easy just to throw a life away and start afresh but this time he knew the pain it would cause. Not this time!

He had to find to a burn off the excess regeneration energy quickly. If he didn't then the backlash could possible burn his insides and kill him. He had to find some release. Then he remembered the hand wrapped tightly in his. He examined Clara as found his salvation: cuts and bruises from the rubble outside, something that would usually cause him to cringe now held the answer.

"Clara," he groaned, "You going to have to concentrate. I'm going to...argh! I'm going to use you to divert some of the energy... You're going to feel a little -argh! - lightheaded but you need to stay conscious! Understand?"

Clara nodded, eager to do what she could to help.

The Doctor concentrated and channelled whatever energy he could into Clara to heal anything that needed it, whilst also healing whatever his body needed without regenerating. It was tricky but he managed to just about do it as he felt himself start to heal.

Clara's nerves tingled as the energy flowed through her. The Doctor was right when he said she'd have to concentrate. Every second she saw stars in front of her eyes and felt a need to shut down and sleep but she stayed awake and alert in order to help the Doctor. Every so often he would emit a groan or even cry of agony and it broke Clara's heart to hear him in pain. She wishes she could bear the pain for him but he wouldn't allow it. He was doing his best to control the energy flow in case she passed out so she had to wait whilst he poured as much as he could into her.

When he could divert no more energy into Clara, the Doctor pulled away. His whole body felt on fire and about to explode, the pain was searing and affecting every part of his body. He held on long enough to tell Clara to run for cover and when she did he let out a scream as he released everything that was inside of him.

Clara shielded herself behind the console as she felt the room rise a few degrees. It was like sitting next to a bonfire. She managed to look round and saw the Doctor's burning body radiating light. His scream was like torture to her, knowing that every moment he was in that fire he was feeling pain beyond belief. She had not heard that scream since the Great Intelligence attempted to destroy his timeline and it had haunted her nightmares ever since. Clara had she been more scared than when she saw the Doctor in that much pain, not when the Whisper-men tried to stop her heart, not when they had to stop that plane, not even when she was trapped in the wi-fi. She was terrified of losing the Doctor, the best friend she's ever had. Perhaps maybe even more than that. And now he was burning, burning to stay as the same man.

Eventually the Doctor did mange I burn off every particle of his regeneration but he was physically and mentally exhausted. Clara ran to his side just as he started to topple over.

"I've got you, I've got you," Clara reassured him as he started to lose consciousness.

"We need...we need...to go...somewhere safe," he whispered with as much effort he could muster. Almost as if it had read his mind, the TARDIS started to take off, but immediately wheezed an unnatural sound. Clara's eyes widened as she started pressing random buttons.

"No, no, stop doing that!" she exclaimed as she tried to set it back on course. No matter how she tried to copy what the Doctor would usually do but the TARDIS still continued to skew off course. "Why are you doing this? He needs to get to somewhere safe! Take us somewhere safe!"

But Clara's cries where in vain. The TARDIS was still headed to who knows where and when, the Doctor was unconscious and she had no idea how to fly the TARDIS.

"This is not good!"

* * *

"This is not good!" Vastra exclaimed from underneath her veil as he watched the huge Tyrannosaurus Rex march around in the Thames.

"How did it get 'ere?" Jenny asked as she and their Sontaran butler, Strax, marched along behind the infamous detective.

"I don't know," she explained as they pushed past the gathering crowds of people, "I haven't seen one of these in a long time."

"Bloody hell!" the local constable exclaimed as he examined the beast, "What on earth is that?"

"Whatever it is, it's not of your concern," Vastra replied sternly as she gave him a basket of metal gadgets the size of saucers, "Get your men to place these in a perimeter around the creature. That should contain it for now."

The dinosaur roared at the crowds of people gathering at the side of the river, however Jenny noticed something strange in its vocal cords.

"It sounds like somethin's stuck in its throat," she said. Immediately after she said it the dinosaur starting choking and coughing as if to get whatever was ailing it removed form it's throat. It continued until a small blue box was spluttered out and landed at the side of the river.

"Well, that explains one thing; come on!" Vastra ordered to her assistants as they ventured down the steps towards the muddy riverbed. When they arrived next to TARDIS, Strax went first and knocked on the door.

"Open the door," he demanded as Jenny and Vastra rolled their eyes, "And surrender, by the glory of the Sontaran empire!"

Suddenly the door opened and a very irate Clara poked her head out of the door.

"Shh!" she demanded and slammed the door.

"Boy?" Strax shouted with uncertainty, "Boy, what's going on!"

"Where are we?" The Doctor exclaimed as he ran out of the door, "Are we on Sontar, no you aren't Sontaran, but he is and you could prisoners and dinosaur that's interesting I'm very good at dinosaurs a whole lot of them appeared in London a long time ago or is it a long time later I don't know! WHEN AM I?" the Doctor rambled so quickly it barely made any coherent sense.

"Doctor!" Clara said as she ran to his side and grabbed his arm, "You have to rest-"

"She's scared!" he exclaimed, "Big dinosaur scared of people!"

"Doctor! Calm. Down. Please!"

"Clara! When did we get here? When are we? Dinosaur! Wait! Trenzalore! Dinosaurs on Trenzalore! Rhyming, but dinosaurs! Where were you? I missed you! So tired! So lonely!"

"Doctor, what are you talking abou-"

"Barnable! He died so long ago and I waited for you! WHERE WERE YOU! WHY DID YOU LEAVE?"

"You left me behind!"

"YOU WOULD'VE DIED AND I CANT LET YOU DIE, CLARA! I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH TO DO THAT! I'M SO CONFUSED, I JUST NEED...a...nap..."

With that the Doctor collapsed into the mud.

"Doctor!" Clara cried as she ran to his side, ignoring the muddy stains on her dress.

"What happened, Clara?" Vastra asked in amazement.

Clara turned to her with tears in her eyes.

"We were in the TARDIS and we were out of control and he was going to change and he didn't and he was burning and-" Clara rambled as she started to break down.

"We need to get 'im to safety," Jenny said as she walked to the Doctor's side and started to pick him up with Clara's help.

"Take him to our house. Strax, get the carriage," Vastra ordered, "He's going to need a lot of rest."

* * *

Clara watched as the Doctor, clad only in a nightgown, slept peacefully under the covers of the bed. His face was calm and relaxed but he wasn't smiling. He hadn't smiled since...since she had almost lost him. She knew what should have happened, she had seen it in his timeline. He was meant to explode in a flash of light and appear a new man, but he managed to fight it somehow. He managed to stay the same. Why he had done, she didn't know. She would have to ask him once he woke up. If he woke up.

He hadn't stirred since they carried him from the Thames, he had barely breathed and when he did it was shallow and hoarse. She had taken his temperature and he was still boiling. She glanced over to his muddy clothes they had changed him out of and noticed patches of fabric that been burnt all the way through. His clothes were ruined but he was unscathed and that was all she could ask for.

She remembered how vulnerable and fragile he was when she found him on Trenzalore carving a little wooden toy. She admired him or staying behind and helping but was still furious that he had the gall to leave her behind again. Then she remembered by the river: "You would've died and I can't let you die, Clara. I love you too much to do that." The last part he was unsure about since he was almost off his rocker at that point. But still, what if?

'No,' she thought as she shook her head, 'I can't think like that. He doesn't see me like that. That's my wishful thinking.' Obviously her heart didn't believe her body. She couldn't help but smile as he slept and she reached out a single hand to stroke his hair. The Doctor smiled slightly at her touch which caused Clara's smile to grow.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Clara retracted her hand just as it opened. Jenny walked into the room carrying a jug of water.

"Just come to check up on 'im," she explained as she set the jug on the bedside table and sat on the hair opposite Clara, "And also to say that we've got TARDIS out of the Thames. Has 'e moved at all?"

"No," Clara sighed.

"Well, I'm sure 'e'll get better."

"I'm not," Clara said with a frown, "He was supposed to change. I saw it, I knew he should have changed and yet..."

"I know how you feel."

"Do you?" Clara asked a little more defensively than she meant to.

"Of course I do," Jenny replied, "Everyday, I worry about Madame Vastra. It's a dangerous type of business we do and I hate seein' her in danger. I know what it's like to be worried for someone you love."

"What...?"

"It's obvious that you at least care about 'im," Jenny said before Clara could continue, "And I know he cares a lot about you."

Clara glanced at the sleeping Doctor again, remembering how much he had helped her and how much he had done for her.

"'E's a remarkable man," Jenny continued, "And 'e needs someone to be there for 'im. You saved his life the last we met."

"Well, he saved mine so many times," Clara said, "I had to return the favour."

"Trust me when I say this," Jenny replied taking her hand and patting it, "'E does care about you as more than a friend. I can tell when someone is in love just by the look in their eyes, an' the way 'e looks at you..." Jenny finished with a cheeky smirk.

Clara stared at her and then at the Doctor then back at Jenny, unable to speak. She wanted to deny everything that Jenny had said but for some reason she was...right. She did care for him...a lot, in fact she enjoyed when people did call him her boyfriend, in some ways they were right. They went out every week and had fun, she felt safe and secure around him...most of the time and she always enjoyed being with him and did admire and like him. Was he her boyfriend even though they weren't 'official'? Clara added that to the already growing list of things to ask the Doctor once he woke up.

At that moment Madame Vastra poked her head the through the door and requested their presence in the living room. Clara reluctantly left her spot beside the Doctor's bed, followed Jenny out of the door and headed towards the living room. No soon had she closed the door, the Doctor took a sudden large breath and awoke.

"Did it work?" he breathed, then realising he was alone, "Ah, right, no one here."

The Doctor removed the covers and jumped out of bed.

"Now," he said to himself as he eyed himself up in the mirror to his side, "Have I changed? Hmm, no, not really so that's good. Hair's a bit longer and my face's a bit smoother but apart from that I think it's gone quite...bow tie!"

He looked around the room and noticed his ruined clothes.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed quietly, "What has happened to you. No, this won't do at all."

He quietly slipped his head out into the hallway to see if anyone was watching. He then creeped down the stairs and and out of the front door to see his trusted time machine waiting for him.

"Right," he announced as he opened the doors, "New clothes!"

* * *

"Now," Vastra began as Clara took a seat, "Would you kindly explain what happened that caused the Doctor to be like this?"

Clara proceeded to explain exactly happen when Doctor stopped his regeneration from occurring.

"Then the TARDIS started crashing," Clara continued, "And we ended up meeting that T-Rex and it tried to eat us so we escaped but we must've brought the T-Rex with us when we left."

"And what about the Doctor? Why was he acting so...eccentrically?"

"I don't know," Clara replied, "He must have been exhausted by that regeneration thing and..."

"You seemed awfully concerned about him."

"Well, he's my best friend. Of course I was concerned about him."

"What if he had changed? What then?"

Clara thought for a moment.

"I can't really imagine the Doctor being anyone else."

"And why not? Is it because this face is the Doctor to you? Or is it that you don't want to think of him as anything else?"

"Are you...judging me?" Clara asked, anger starting to creep into her voice.

"No of course not. I just find it very convenient how the youngest and most attractive of his faces is the one you associate him as and 'cannot imagine as being anyone else'."

Clara rose from her seat in anger.

"How dare you!" she growled, "For your information I've seen every single one of his faces and I think no less of him now than I did when I first met him. I didn't care about how he looks or how voyeuristic he is. The reason I didn't want him to change was because that Doctor, that personality, that person, was the one I fell in love with!" Even Clara was surprised by the words streaming out of her mouth but she continued anyway, "Yes, Vastra, I love him. It's not some silly crush from the mind of a schoolgirl because I know him! He's always been there for me and helped me and I've always down my best to help him! I've seen him at his highest and his lowest and I still think of him as nothing less than a hero! And I know he thinks the same of me and would do the same for me if he had the chance! So just because my pretty face has turned you head, don't think I'm so easily distracted!"

"Woo!" Jenny clapped, breaking the silence that followed Clara's speech. He small claps however died away as no one reciprocated them.

"Jenny, dear," Vastra said after another moment of silence, "Why don't you go check up on the Doctor?"

Once Jenny had left the room, Vastra stood.

"I'm sorry, Clara," she apologised, "I just had to be sure. That man, sometimes he doesn't know what's good for him; he's always been partial to attractive women."

"You're telling me," Clara chuckled as she remembered when the TARDIS had shown her all of his past female companions.

"However his interest in you is something quite different," Vastra continued, "He's been obsessed by trying to figure you out and I've seen him when he's harboured a broken heart. I'm glad you never had to see him like that, Clara. He was a very different, very bitter, very isolated man. And it took a very brave and very kind woman in order to get him back."

Clara smiled at this.

"Well, technically that woman was me," Clara pointed out.

"Yes, I was wondering whether you could live up to her memory. and quite frankly, after that speech, I'm sure you'll do just fine-"

"'E's gone!" Jenny exclaimed as she ran back into the room.

"What!" they both shouted.

"'E's not in 'is room and I've checked around the house! 'E's just disappeared!"

At that moment the sound of a door closing from outside and the front door opening drew their attention. The three of them raced into the front hall. Standing with a smile and clothed in new clothes was the Doctor. He now wore a midnight blue tweed jacket and bow tie, black waistcoat, light blue shirt, black trousers and a pair of shiny black walking boots.

"Ahh, Clara, what do you think? I've gone for extra sensible this tine but I still like the bow tie and no I'm not changing it-" but the Doctor was cut off by a slap from Clara, "Oww! What was that for?"

"That," Clara growled, "Was for getting out of bed without telling me, making me absolutely terrified and not apologising for almost giving me a heart attack."

The Doctor flinched as he expected another slap but instead Clara snaked her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lip. Just as the Doctor had relaxed she pulled away, slightly ruffled.

"And that was everything else," Clara finished. The Doctor, as well as everyone else, was absolutely flabbergasted.

"You-you kissed me!" he spluttered.

Clara smirked.

"You blushed," she replied.

Suddenly a thunderous roar brought their attention towards the Thames. The Doctor looked out of the window to see the T-Rex that was in the Thames erupting into flames.

"No, no!" the Doctor shouted as he dragged Clara by the hand out of the front door and into the street, "We need to get to the Thames, right now!"

"How do we do that?" she asked. The answer provided itself as a horse and carriage raced up the street and stopped in front of them.

"Oi! Get out the way!" the cabbie shouted from his perch on top of the carriage.

"We're going to need to borrow you for a minute, I hope your pet doesn't mind," said the Doctor.

"Well, I'm closed for the night; I ain't giving no more lifts," the cabbie replied.

"I was talking to horse," the Doctor explained as he and Clara climbed onto the white stallion and sped off down the street.

"Hey!" the cabbie shouted after them, "That's robbery! I'll have ya for this!"

"Out of the way, puny human!" Strax shouted as commandeered his own horse and carriage carrying Jenny and Vastra inside. The carriage raced away leaving a furious cabbie shouting obscenities at an empty street so loudly that if caught the attention of a certain man lurking in the darkness. The ranting Londoner barely noticed the shadowy figure approaching him.

"You have good vocal chords," the stranger said with an almost robotic voice. The cabbie stopped shouting for a moment of look at the stranger beside him.

"Well, ya have to have a good voice to be heard around here, ya know?"

"You have good vocal chords," the man repeated, never turning to face the taxi driver.

"Yeah, you just said-"

The stranger then turned to reveal he was missing half of his face. Where there was meant to be skin there was clockwork ticking inside a metal frame. The cabbie was too shocked to scream.

"You have good vocal chords. We need good vocal chords," he said as he removed his hand to reveal a gas burner. The clockwork man then pounced to claim what he came for.


	2. Chapter II

**Afterdeath 11**

 **II**

She was scared. She was alone. She had no one. The Doctor could relate to that only too well. And now she was dead. The once great Tyrannosaurus Rex was burning in the Thames. For no reason. She hadn't been attacked by a local, he knew that for sure. The fire power needed to bring her down would have been far beyond anything an inhabitant of Victorian London could produce. This was alien. This was pointless, as far as the Doctor could see. And he was angry. He wanted to destroy whoever did this, whoever cost this mother her life. And he would. If he had too, he would.

"She's dead," Clara stated.

"Yes," the Doctor sighed.

"Do we know why?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"I think we might," Vastra said as she and Jenny dismounted from their carriage, "Recently throughout London there have been several instances of spontaneous combustions. If we can find any connections between this and those other cases then we can get to the bottom of this."

She had a point. With her help this could be over in a few days. No matter how much he wanted to do this alone he knew he would need assistance. Last time he tried to stop an enemy alone it almost cost him his life. Now this life was more essential than ever. For Clara's sake and his he needed to stay alive, because he could sense something approaching. Something big...

"Fine then," he said as he allowed Clara to lead him into the carriage and sit down next to him.

The carriage pulled away before the crowd became too large. It would take a long time for the body to be removed and whilst they gathered, no one noticed the man with half a face turn and retreat the dark side alley, his prize having been collected.

* * *

Both the Doctor and Clara were tired by the time they arrived back at the house. They leaned against each other as they rested inside the carriage, forcing themselves to move from its lukewarm seats and into the cold London air, never leaving each other's side. They managed to excuse themselves upstairs and found themselves back in the Doctor's room where they sat on his bed. They stayed like that for minutes on end in comfortable silence as they clung to each other, realising for the first time just how close they had come to losing each other.

"Clara," the Doctor whispered into her ear, "Do you honestly feel safe?" Clara looked up at him and sighed, her brow furrowed.

"I don't want to leave if that's what you're thinking," she replied.

"No, but you know how dangerous this job is," he replied holding her shoulders so that she faced him head-on, "I can't always guarantee that you'll be safe."

"I know, Doctor," she said.

"But-"

"Doctor." He silenced himself before she continued, "Why are you asking me this? You know I trust you, don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do but... I'm not sure if I can trust myself to keep you safe," he whispered.

"Why are you so concerned about my safety all of a sudden?"

"I... I have a duty of care-"

"Tell me the truth," she demanded, looking straight into his eyes, daring him to try and lie to her again.

"Clara," he said, "I'm not sure I should be telling you this but... I think I love you. Don't say anything yet," he quickly added as he saw her mouth start to open then shut immediately, "I haven't felt anything like this for a long time. I can barely remember what it was like to have a wife or a close friend. Trenzalore, it changed me. I can't look at you the same way again. I can't... I can't lose... you..." That was all he could say without letting the tears fall. Clara cupped his face with her hand and held him.

"Shh, it's okay you daft old puppy. I love you too. I can see why you left me home, but that doesn't mean it didn't break my heart. If I am going to die, I want to be with you. I want it to be my choice, and on my own terms. Still, it must have been hard for you stay in one place without me for a few decades, eh?" She giggled before she saw the look on his face. It was the same haunted face he wore when he talked about Gallifrey or the Time War, when those memories were his own personal hell. She looked at him again and asked with a trembling voice, "Doctor... H-How long long were you on Trenzalore?"

"Altogether?" She nodded.

He looked to the ground and said with the smallest of whispers that only she could hear, "Nine hundred years."

Her eyes widened and she gasped in order not to scream.

"Nine h-hundred years? No, Doctor please no! You can't be serious!" He just said nothing. "Why? Why would you do that to yourself?"

"I couldn't leave them behind. They all would have died-"

"You would have died if I didn't come back when I did!"

"I didn't though-"

"But you nearly did! Do you think I could live with myself if I just left you to die! I have 'duty of care' as well, you know! I can't lose you either!"

"Clara, you don't understand-"

"Then help me understand! Tell me what happened on Trenzalore!"

The Doctor hesitated.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, the sooner we get over this the better."

"I can't promise that Trenzalore didn't change me."

"I'll understand," she reassured him as she held his hand, "I won't judge. I just want to know."

The Doctor sighed as he held on to her hand a little but tighter. He examined her face and saw her resolve strengthen as she awaited his stories. The Doctor took one last deep breath and began his tale. He told her everything. Barnable, the town, the Daleks, the children, the cyber-men, the never ending barrage of attacks from space, the nights where he just wanted to give up, the days which lasted forever, the fleeting faces that were there and gone so quickly, getting older... And throughout it all, she listened, quietly and patiently, until he had finished.

Tears were shed, hugs were exchanged, and hours passed, all the while the two of them never each other's side. In the end the two of them simply lay back upon the mattress and closed their eyes, letting sleep finally catch up to them.

* * *

The next morning Clara found herself alone on the Doctor's bed, a warm patch where his body used to be. She looked around, noticing that his jacket, bow tie and shoes that had been lazily draped over the chair the previous night were gone, indicating that the Doctor was already up. Clara glanced at the clock in the corner of the room, which read 7:30, and quickly walked to her room to get dressed accordingly.

She had seen enough episodes of Downtown Abbey to know the basic gist of how Victorian dresses worked... or was that Edwardian? Regardless, Clara managed to find a decent green dress that just... about... fit! Triumphant in her dressing, she trotted down the stairs, her hair in an elegant bun, towards the dining hall, to find the Doctor casually eating what looked like a strange muffin. He took a bite and looked up from his newspaper. He smiled when he noticed Clara.

"Clara, good morning! I was just looking for anymore leads into this 'spontaneous combustion' case and I think I may have found a pattern!"

Clara smiled at seeing her old Doctor back, it was almost as if his regeneration never happened, as if they never went to that planet. After last night though, she still had doubts as to how much Trenzalore had really taken its toll. She decided to wait and see however, if there any side effects then they would present themselves in time. She strolled over to him and circled his shoulder with her arms, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"What've you found?"

"Hopefully our clue as to who's behind this... Where's Vastra?"

"I think she's in her study."

Indeed she was in the study, currently studying a piece of paper on an easel as Jenny posed for her in a eloquent position.

"Yes..." Vastra murmured, "Most extraordinary..."

"How far've you got Madam?" Jenny asked as she lifted her eyes towards her lover.

"Well," she said as she flipped the board to reveal a map of the London area, "I've managed to map out every single spontaneous combustion event in the local area."

"Oi!" Jenny exclaimed, hands on her hips, "I thought you were painting me! What's the point of me being here then?"

"Well you brighten up the room so well," she smiled. Jenny gave an unimpressed look as the Doctor and Clara entered the study.

"Found anything?" the Doctor asked expectantly.

"Well," Vastra said as she refocused on the map, "I've pinpointed the combustions to these areas, but other than that, nothing. There's almost nothing that links them."

"Yes there is," the Doctor said, "I was looking the post-mortems of the victims. Each one of them had a missing body part."

"So?" Jenny asked, "You can't expect everything to come out clean when your body lights on fire."

"Yes, well, you wouldn't expect entire internal organs to just suddenly disappear either. The cabbie that was admitted this morning had his entire voice box removed."

"So whoever did this murdered those people for... specific parts..." Clara started.

"And burned the evidence, yes," the Doctor concluded.

"So how do we find him?" Vastra asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor grumbled, "Whoever this is seems to have no pattern to when or where they attack, if your map is anything to go by."

"Actually there is a pattern!" Clara chirped up and pointed at the board, "Every single one of the murders happened outside of this area-" she circled it with her finger, "- so we can only assume that they don't want to be associated with that area, either it was too populated or-"

"It's where their main base of operation is located, good work Clara!" the Doctor beamed, kissing Clara on the forehead. He too examined the board much closer. "This means that we should examine any of the shops on these streets," he said as he pointed to the centre of the circle.

"Aha!" Vastra exclaimed, "That's interesting..."

"What is it?" Clara asked.

"Me and Jenny have been investigating some missing persons cases around this area, or more specifically around this restaurant." She pointed to a small restaurant on the side of the street. The Doctor grinned.

"Then that's where we start."


End file.
